Multimedia conglomerate Comcast/NBCU was hitting on all cylinders in both the Q4 and the full year as well. The broadcast division had a particular good final quarter.
Both broadcast and cable contributed to the very positive results.
Q4 revenue was up 4.8%, operating cash flow improved 4.1% and operating income was up 3.8%. The NBCUniversal unit grew 2.3% in revenue with an OCF gain of 6.6%. Cable also grew, with revenue up 6.1% and OCF up 6.3%.
For the full year, consolidated revenue was up 6.4% and OCF gained 6.9%, and operating income was up 9.9%. NBCUniversal numbers were +7.5% revenue and 18.1% OCF, while cable was up 5.5% and 5.3% respectively. Broadcast Q4 results were driven by increases in both advertising and retransmission consent income. The Olympics had a positive impact on full year results.
Chairman/CEO Brian L. Roberts said, “2014 was a great year financially, operationally, and strategically for Comcast NBCUniversal. We continued to execute incredibly well as we accelerated our innovation, launched new products, and brought amazing films, shows and theme park attractions to consumers.”
Roberts addressed some of the company’s operating unit results:
“Cable’s results,” he said, “driven by High-Speed Internet and Business Services, demonstrate our focus on driving profitable growth and technology innovations, including our transformative X1 platform. This is bearing fruit in our operating performance, as we added 358,000 customer relationships, while video subscriber trends were the best in 7 years and in broadband we added over 1 million subscribers for the ninth year in a row.”
Looking at television and other properties, Roberts said, “NBCUniversal also had a standout performance in 2014, with 18% growth in operating cash flow, driven by a successful Sochi Olympics, continued momentum at NBC Broadcast, the successful opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley™ in Orlando, and strong box office performance from Universal Pictures.”
